Cancer Therapeutics

The Cancer Therapeutics (CT) Research Program’s overall goal is to translate UNMCCC science to clinical and community interventions that improve cancer prevention, treatment and survival in our catchment area, the state of New Mexico, and the nation. CT will accomplish this through continued innovation in drug discovery, the development and clinical translation of novel Immune-based cancer treatments, and the targeted delivery of therapeutic agents to optimize treatment efficacy. Formalized collaborations with the other UNMCCC research programs and Clinical Working Groups (CWGs) will advance these discoveries to interventional trials.

The Specific Aims of the CT Program are:

• Aim 1: To employ innovative high-throughput screening and informatics platforms to design, discover, and validate novel and repurposed anti-cancer agents.
• Aim 2: TTo optimize the efficacy of cancer therapeutics through targeted drug delivery, innovative Immune-based cancer treatments platforms and preclinical models.
• Aim 3: To translate our discoveries to clinical and community interventions aligned with the needs of our catchment area.

• Discovery of GPER/ER-selective Ligands and Advancement to Phase II/III Trials
• Cancer Immune-based cancer treatments and Therapeutics
• Artificial Intelligence
• Oncolytic immunotherapy
• Diagnostic Cancer Imaging
• Targeted therapeutics
• Investigator-initiated clinical trials and biomarker development

To facilitate the translation of discoveries from UNMCCC investigators to IITs, the TSI was launched in 2020. The goals of TSI are to: 1) promote collaborations between basic/translational scientists and clinical investigators; 2) support the recruitment, career development, and retention of clinician-scientist faculty; 3) develop innovative early phase IITs based on UNMCCC science; and 4) streamline sample collection and distribution for mechanistic and correlative studies linked with clinical trials at UNMCCC.

Quarterly meetings of the Translational Science Focus Group have now been integrated into the Oncology Grand Rounds series to highlight emerging concepts from each research program for translation. For these presentations, a clinician is invited to present the clinical context or the critical treatment need, followed by a research presentation and a discussion about opportunities to advance UNMCCC concepts. 

Distribution of seed grants supports new collaborations between clinical and laboratory-based investigators.  Nine new interprogrammatic grants have been awarded to date. These grants have successfully led to high impact publications co-authored by clinicians and translational scientists (Fahy, Tawfik and Marchetti (CMO), Cancer Res Commun  2022 2:1436; Tawfik and Marchetti (CMO, Cancers 2023 15:5263), preclinical studies to support investigator initiated trials (Xue (CMO), Brown-Glaberman; Ozbun (CMO), McCormick), and plans for larger collaborative NIH grants (Tawfik, Sussman (CCPS)).

TSI staff also oversee patient sample collection and clinical annotation through an active protocol (INST1509, PI Adams) to support mechanistic studies and translational research. This initiative has supported inter-programmatic collaborations, MPI grant submissions, and publications.  Expanded services in 2025 will allow collection of additional biologic samples from patients with any tumor type.   

Lastly, the Protocol Development Team (PDT) provides resources, expertise, and specialized administrative support for investigators developing IITs, including: assistance with study design, protocol writing, compliance with regulatory requirements, budget development and contract negotiation. This team works closely with the Clinical Trials Office. Bonthu, PharmD, was hired to lead this program.

• Nemunaitis, Blair (CCPS), Brown-Glaberman, Prabhakaran: An exercise intervention to reduce chronic post-operative pain in young Hispanic breast cancer survivors
• Gopal: INST2303:  Prospective registry trial of a 40-gene expression profile test for prediction of patterns of recurrence of localized cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma
• Gopal: INST2305:  Patient preference of AI-generated vs MD responses
• Lesli and Muller: INST 2304:  Progestin therapy for endometrial cancer
• Xue (CMO) and Brown-Glaberman: Iron chelators for the treatment of colorectal cancer.
• Foucar: FLAG* and LOXO-338 in patients with recurrent or relapsed AML
• Foucar and Andritsos: INST-UNM-2501: A single arm phase 2 study of the effect of EGCG on peripheral blood counts in acute myeloid leukemia patients receiving standard therapy with hypomethylating agents plus venetoclax.